In mathematics, a topological group is a group G together with a topology on G such that the group's binary operation and the group's inverse function are continuous functions with respect to the topology. A topological group is a mathematical object with both an algebraic structure and a topological structure. Thus, one may perform algebraic operations, because of the group structure, and one may talk about continuous functions, because of the topology.
In algebraic geometry, an algebraic group is a group that is an algebraic variety, such that the multiplication and inversion operations are given by regular maps on the variety.
In mathematics, a linear algebraic group is a subgroup of the group of invertible n×n matrices that is defined by polynomial equations. An example is the orthogonal group, defined by the relation MTM = 1 where MT is the transpose of M.
In mathematics, a compact (topological) group is a topological group whose topology is compact. Compact groups are a natural generalization of finite groups with the discrete topology and have properties that carry over in significant fashion. Compact groups have a well-understood theory, in relation to group actions and representation theory.
In mathematics, a reductive group is a type of linear algebraic group over a field. One definition is that a connected linear algebraic group G over a perfect field is reductive if it has a representation with finite kernel which is a direct sum of irreducible representations. Reductive groups include some of the most important groups in mathematics, such as the general linear group GL(n) of invertible matrices, the special orthogonal group SO(n), and the symplectic group Sp(2n). Simple algebraic groups and semisimple algebraic groups are reductive.
In mathematics, a Cartan subalgebra, often abbreviated as CSA, is a nilpotent subalgebra of a Lie algebra that is self-normalising. They were introduced by Élie Cartan in his doctoral thesis.
In mathematics, a Hermitian symmetric space is a Hermitian manifold which at every point has as an inversion symmetry preserving the Hermitian structure. First studied by Élie Cartan, they form a natural generalization of the notion of Riemannian symmetric space from real manifolds to complex manifolds.
In mathematics, the orbit method establishes a correspondence between irreducible unitary representations of a Lie group and its coadjoint orbits: orbits of the action of the group on the dual space of its Lie algebra. The theory was introduced by Kirillov for nilpotent groups and later extended by Bertram Kostant, Louis Auslander, Lajos Pukánszky and others to the case of solvable groups. Roger Howe found a version of the orbit method that applies to p-adic Lie groups. David Vogan proposed that the orbit method should serve as a unifying principle in the description of the unitary duals of real reductive Lie groups.
This is a glossary for the terminology applied in the mathematical theories of semisimple Lie groups. It also covers terms related to their Lie algebras, their representation theory, and various geometric, algebraic and combinatorial structures that occur in connection with the development of what is a central theory of contemporary mathematics.
In mathematics, a discrete series representation is an irreducible unitary representation of a locally compact topological group G that is a subrepresentation of the left regular representation of G on L²(G). In the Plancherel measure, such representations have positive measure. The name comes from the fact that they are exactly the representations that occur discretely in the decomposition of the regular representation.
In mathematics, a tempered representation of a linear semisimple Lie group is a representation that has a basis whose matrix coefficients lie in the Lp space
In mathematics, admissible representations are a well-behaved class of representations used in the representation theory of reductive Lie groups and locally compact totally disconnected groups. They were introduced by Harish-Chandra.
In mathematics, the Harish-Chandra character, named after Harish-Chandra, of a representation of a semisimple Lie group G on a Hilbert space H is a distribution on the group G that is analogous to the character of a finite-dimensional representation of a compact group.
In mathematics, Harish-Chandra's regularity theorem, introduced by Harish-Chandra (1963), states that every invariant eigendistribution on a semisimple Lie group, and in particular every character of an irreducible unitary representation on a Hilbert space, is given by a locally integrable function. Harish-Chandra proved a similar theorem for semisimple p-adic groups.
In mathematics, a zonal spherical function or often just spherical function is a function on a locally compact group G with compact subgroup K that arises as the matrix coefficient of a K-invariant vector in an irreducible representation of G. The key examples are the matrix coefficients of the spherical principal series, the irreducible representations appearing in the decomposition of the unitary representation of G on L2(G/K). In this case the commutant of G is generated by the algebra of biinvariant functions on G with respect to K acting by right convolution. It is commutative if in addition G/K is a symmetric space, for example when G is a connected semisimple Lie group with finite centre and K is a maximal compact subgroup. The matrix coefficients of the spherical principal series describe precisely the spectrum of the corresponding C* algebra generated by the biinvariant functions of compact support, often called a Hecke algebra. The spectrum of the commutative Banach *-algebra of biinvariant L1 functions is larger; when G is a semisimple Lie group with maximal compact subgroup K, additional characters come from matrix coefficients of the complementary series, obtained by analytic continuation of the spherical principal series.
In mathematical representation theory, the Eisenstein integral is an integral introduced by Harish-Chandra in the representation theory of semisimple Lie groups, analogous to Eisenstein series in the theory of automorphic forms. Harish-Chandra used Eisenstein integrals to decompose the regular representation of a semisimple Lie group into representations induced from parabolic subgroups. Trombi (1989) gave a survey of Harish-Chandra's work on this.
In mathematics, Borel–de Siebenthal theory describes the closed connected subgroups of a compact Lie group that have maximal rank, i.e. contain a maximal torus. It is named after the Swiss mathematicians Armand Borel and Jean de Siebenthal who developed the theory in 1949. Each such subgroup is the identity component of the centralizer of its center. They can be described recursively in terms of the associated root system of the group. The subgroups for which the corresponding homogeneous space has an invariant complex structure correspond to parabolic subgroups in the complexification of the compact Lie group, a reductive algebraic group.
